(WTO) Appellate Body locked-out due to U.S. blockage commenting on how the WTO Appellate Body will be unable to hear new appeals. Long-time “boots-on-the ground”/longest serving foreign lawyer working in mainland China on WTO issues
Edward LEHMAN
雷曼律师博士
China Lawyer Foreign Legal Counselor
and
CGTN Digital
/
CGTN
legal affairs commentator explains on State Media the
World Trade Organization
’s first “lockout” crisis in the WTO appeals process after nearly 25 years. This body, a de facto appeals court to WTO, is unable to process new cases as it has only a lone judge on the panel due to US not putting forth a nomination to the WTO Board of its members by the United States. The Appellate Body has seven judges elected for a 4-year term, and they can be re-elected once. In the selection process, WTO members follow the consensus principle, which means that the nomination of the Appellate Body members can only proceed smoothly with the agreement of all 164 members. Since 2017, the United States has unilaterally opposed the launching of any selection process for new judges, citing the so-called “systemic” problems of the dispute settlement mechanism.